What Did Equiano Reveal About The Middle Passage Summary

608 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Modern slavery essay report

Olaudah Equiano Review Questions 1-4: What did Equiano reveal about the “middle passage”? Equiano revealed just how miserable and horrid the ‘middle passage’ was. Frequently, he witnessed fellow slaves dying one after another due to the awful conditions within the boat(such as suffocation due to poor air quality) or purposefully killing themselves. He also talks about how serious it was for both parties, with both the slaves and whites facing death if they were to make mistakes. Equiano explains, “I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw… flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute.”(Equiano 75) How did the slave trade operate in the West Indies? …show more content…

Instead, it was far more hectic and disorganized. Equiano writes, “On a signal given, the buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make a choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamor with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little to increase the apprehension of terrified Africans…”(Equiano

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Africans In America Terrible Transformation

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    From loaded uncomfortable space, diseases, and even death. Many were crowded together forced to lie on their back bare knowing that it could only be someone's feces, urine, blood, which increases medical conditions in the small quarter (section 6 part 1). I can't even imagine how terrible that must be especially if you had a child forced to be in that area. I would honestly rather try to figure a way out or die because the situation sounds unbearable to live in for 60-90 days. Many desperate slaves actually attempted suicide by going overboard to drown themselves “often did I think many of the inhabitants deep much happier than myself“ (Equino: section 6 part 1). Not to mention, when it informed that women were used sexually for pleasure from white men and they believed they were doing them a favor becuase having intercorse with theem is a gift, but considering the same interactions with a black man would be considered animalistic and inhuman angered me. Though Europeans may have also started to developed symptoms the colored were consumed with such as, smallpox, yellow fever etc .from relations with the colored women. Over the centuries, “between one and two million” people died in the expedition (section 6 part

    Read More

  • Indentured Servitude and Slavery in the New World

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    Equiano was the youngest of his brothers who enjoyed playing outside throwing javelins enjoying the normal life of a small child. At the beginning of the day, the elders would leave their children at home while they went out into the fields to work. While they were gone, some of the children would get together to play but always took precautions of potential kidnappers. Even with all these precautions, people were still seized from their homes and taken away. Equiano was home one day with his little sister tending to the everyday household needs when out of nowhere they were captured by a couple men who had gotten over the walls. They had no time to resist or scream for help before they found themselves bound, gagged, and being taken away. Equiano had no idea where these people were taking him and they didn’t stop once until nightfall where they stayed until dawn. He tells us about how they traveled for many days and nights not having any clue where they were going or when they would get there. Slaves traveled by land and by sea, but Equiano’s journey was by sea. He tells us how he was carried aboard and immediately chained to other African Americans that were already on the ship. Once the ship halted on land, Equiano along with many other slaves were sent to the merchant’s yard where they would be herded together and bought by the

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano Rhetorical Analysis

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    The fight for racial equality is one of the most prominent issues Americans have faced throughout history and even today; as the idea that enslaving individuals is unethical emerged, many great and innovative authors began writing about the issues that enslaved people had to face. Olaudah Equiano was no exception. In his work The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, he attempts to persuade his readers that the American way of slavery is brutal, inhumane, and unscrupulous. Equiano manages to do this by minimizing the apparent differences between himself and his primarily white audience, mentioning the cruelties that he and many other slaves had to face, and the advantages of treating your slaves correctly.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Equiano And Mary Rowlandson

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    Equiano starting out had caring captors, “[t]he people I was sold to used to carry me very often when I was tired either on their shoulders or on their backs” (Equiano 54). Equiano’s first master lost his wife and daughter causing the mental state to be off, so Equiano was sold. Luckily Equiano was able to see his sister once again, he felt the need to be there for her and try to aid the pain she was feeling. All slave masters admired Equiano and he was still live a fair well off life but, that would soon change when boards the slave ship. Equiano finally will see the true horrors of how slaves were treated, “...and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation” (Equiano

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano and his Role in the Abolition of Slavery in Africa

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    First published in 1789, Volume I focuses on Equiano’s short time in Africa followed by his treacherous journey as a slave. He begins the narrative with an in depth description of his homeland of Nigeria, speaking of their food, clothes, and religious views. He then recounts the events following his kidnapping, as well as the treacherous expedition from Africa to the West Indies known as the Middle Passage. Once in the West Indies, Equiano saw firsthand the selling of his countrymen. While there, he was not purchased, so Equiano was taken to Virginia, where he labored in the fields of a plantation. Not long after arriving in Virginia, Equiano was sold to Henry Pascal, a lieutenant in the British navy. After purchasing Equiano, Pascal returned to England. During their journey, Pascal renamed Equiano Gustavus Vassa. Once in England, Equiano began to go to church with his new friend Robert Baker, who began to teach him to read and write. Pascal later sent Equiano to work for his sisters, the Guerins. The Guerins promoted his education and Christianity, and eventually, the sisters convinced Pascal to permit Equiano to be baptized. Eqiano was extremely loyal to Pascal, but after a few years the slave was sold to James Doran. Equiano was astonished th...

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In Olaudah Equiano

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    He was trade to another master by the name of Mr. Robert King, a Quaker. Just when Equiano lost hope and prefer being dead than to be a slave due to his mistreatment by masters and the hypocrisy he encounter, he gains faith again when he saw that Mr. King was very different than other masters, Mr. King was kind, patient and did not mistreat his slaves. As Equiano travels with Mr. King he came across masters that brutally mistreat slaves, some were cut into pieces and some were burned with wax. Nevertheless Equiano came across many places where slaves were treated nicely for instance in West Indies where slave treated lenity and proper care. Equiano saw that in these lands Negroes were cheerful and healthy due to the treatment they receive. However, in Barbados it was not a very nice place for African slaves. Equiano meet other Negroes that share their stories and experiences in Barbados, they face many injustice and mistreatment from white people specially females slaves that were raped including children. Besides of these actions slaves did not have control of their property or possession, there were no rights towards slaves. They explain that they felt worthless, when they encounter a situation where they felt like they were being taken advantage by other whites, they turn to their master to fight for their right in which turn out to be not so great, the poor negro turn to god every time he was mistreated to find

    Read More

  • Slavery in America between 1800 and 1860

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Between 1800 and 1860 slavery in the American South had become a ‘peculiar institution’ during these times. Although it may have seemed that the worst was over when it came to slavery, it had just begun. The time gap within 1800 and 1860 had slavery at an all time high from what it looks like. As soon as the cotton production had become a long staple trade source it gave more reason for slavery to exist. Varieties of slavery were instituted as well, especially once international slave trading was banned in America after 1808, they had to think of a way to keep it going – which they did. Nonetheless, slavery in the American South had never declined; it may have just come to a halt for a long while, but during this time between 1800 and 1860, it shows it could have been at an all time high.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass: The Psychological Approaches Used to Maintain the Institution of Slavery

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” Douglass discusses the deplorable conditions in which he and his fellow slaves suffered from. While on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, slaves were given a “monthly allowance of eight pounds of pork and one bushel of corn” (Douglass 224). Their annual clothing rations weren’t any better; considering the type of field work they did, what little clothing they were given quickly deteriorated. The lack of food and clothing matched the terrible living conditions. After working on the field all day, with very little rest the night before, they must sleep on the hard uncomfortably cramped floor with only a single blanket as protection from the cold. Coupled with the overseer’s irresponsible and abusive use of power, it is astonishing how three to four hundred slaves did not rebel. Slave-owners recognized that in able to restrict and control slaves more than physical violence was needed. Therefore in able to mold slaves into the submissive and subservient property they desired, slave-owners manipulated them by twisting religion, instilling fear, breaking familial ties, making them dependent, providing them with an incorrect view of freedom, as well as refusing them education.

    Read More

  • The Differences Between North And South

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, Additionally, the slaves suffered a lot because the handpicking process of cottonseeds was time consuming; it required patience picking out the cotto...

    Read More

  • Reversing the Master and Slave Role in Benito Cereno

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    conditions aboard ship were dreadful. The maximum number of slaves was jammed into the hull, chained to forestall revolts or suicides by drowning. Food, ventilation, light, and sanitatio...

    Read More

  • Middle Passage Dbq Report

    334 Words  | 1 Pages

    People during the Middle Passage experienced many things. They experienced hygiene problems and and had some important factors to justify for the successive waves of Africans coming to America to be slaves. “Even the whites had difficulty with these things (Hygiene).” The whites were so worried about the Africans they didn’t have time to keep themselves clean. “Brazil became the most expressive model of the process carried out by the Portuguese as it melted Indian, white, and black in a complex mix of ethnicities and cultures.” People where having a hard time keeping care of themselves so they had a hard time taking care of themselves and their family if they had one. If the slaves had a choice to get on the boat to end their

    Read More

  • The Extreme Cruelty of the Middle Passage

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    All were subject to harsh circumstances and the relentless fears of shipwreck and disease outbreaks. It took as long as five to twelve weeks, depending on the weather circumstances and point of departure. The captain and the crew workers treated the slaves like wild animals, giving them barely enough food to survive and leaving them to suffer with lice, fleas, and rats, which led to many diseases (“Middle Passage”). The records stated that about two –thirds of the fatalities were caused by malaria, yellow fever, and intestinal disorders (Postma 25). The enslaved Africans were linked with heavy iron chains around their hands and feet with barely enough room to lie down (Howarth). Constant odors of urine, vomit...

    Read More

  • Middle Passage

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    European slavers altered the way that different African people viewed one another and themselves. The book by Miguel Barnet, Biography of a Runaway Slave is a strong account that can be used to explore how Africans changed their perception of each other, and how this change influenced the lives of Africans in the Americas.

    Read More

  • The Middle Passage

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Middle Passage (or Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade) was a voyage that took slaves from Africa to the Americas via tightly packed ships. The trade started around the early 1500s, and by 1654 about 8,000-10,000 slaves were being imported from Africa to the Americas every year. This number continued to grow, and by 1750 that figure had climbed to about 60,000-70,000 slaves a year. Because of the lack of necessary documents, it is hard to tell the exact number of Africans taken from their homeland. But based on available clues and data, an estimated 9-15 million were taken on the Middle Passage, and of that about 3-5 million died. While the whole idea seems sick and wrong, many intelligent people and ideas went in to making the slave trade economically successful.

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano Summary

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Equiano travels with Henry were described as the ‘Middle Passage’ -set sail from Europe to North America. He describes all the harsh conditions and brutal punishments slaves went through. He accompanied on this one crazy slave voyages, and traveled through multiple countries. Equiano watched all these captured Europeans and Africans, who were kidnapped and captured, onboard the ship in the West Indies and get sold into slavery. He stayed with the Dutch ship. The Dutch ship was still traveling to North

    Read More

More about What Did Equiano Reveal About The Middle Passage Summary

Open Document